As we close out 2015, I am providing my readers with a year-end bonus — a free, downloadable e-book to help you think about your career planning for 2016. Download your Career and Personal Planning Guide e-book now! I appreciate your trust and confidence in me, and I’m committed to giving you even more assistance, tools, and resources in the upcoming year to help you in your career.
As always, please feel free to get in touch and let me know how I can help!
Here’s to 2016!
Nancy
While the traditional face-to-face interview is still the most common, many agencies and companies are conducting first interviews (or sometimes, the only interview) remotely, using the telephone, Skype, video-teleconferencing (VTC) or another medium. Preparation, including researching the organization, drafting your CCAR examples, composing questions to ask the employer, etc., are applicable to both in-person and remote interviews, however, remote interviews present some special challenges.
Telephone interviews are particularly challenging since you cannot see the people with whom you are interviewing. If contacted for a phone interview, I encourage you to ask if the interview can be conducted using Skype, FaceTime, VTC, or something similar where you can see the interviewers. While still not as personal as face-to-face interviews, being on camera can help everyone stay more focused on the interview itself.
Earlier articles focused on the basics of interview preparation—how to calm your nerves, what to wear, how to present yourself professionally, preparing CCAR stories, and planning transportation. This article discusses what happens once the interview panel has stopped talking.
A good interview is not a one-way street. While interviewers are determining whether you are a good match for the job, you should use the interview as an opportunity to learn whether or not the job is a good fit for YOU. One way to do that is to be prepared with questions for the panel.
During most interviews, you will be given an opportunity to ask questions of the panel. Never say that you don’t have any questions! You should always have 3 to 5 well-prepared questions to ask. Your questions should not be about you (how much training will I get? Will I have the opportunity for promotion? Etc.); instead, they should show your interest in meeting the employer’s needs, not yours.
In part 1 of this article, we discussed the basics of interview preparation—how to calm your nerves, what to wear, presenting yourself as professional, and planning transportation. Now, let’s focus on the harder part of interview prep.
In the federal government, almost all job interviews are structured. Each interviewee is asked the same questions in the same order, and all questions are job related, consistent with the Uniform Guidelines for Employee Selection. While follow up questions may be asked for additional clarification, in most instances, questions are identical for each candidate and the candidate may feel that the interview is rigid and inflexible.
This consistency is critical from the federal government’s standpoint in order to minimize the opportunity and risk of legal challenges to the process. Notes are typically taken during the interview and interviews are evaluated often using predetermined measures. Although interviewing in the federal government can be quite structured, there are some steps you should take to prepare.
Most government managers rely heavily on interviews when assessing candidate suitability for an employment relationship. A recent Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) study showed that over two-thirds of federal managers reported they use the information gathered during an interview to a “great extent” when making employment selections.
Due to the heavy reliance on interviewing during the candidate assessment process, it is important to spend the time preparing to do it right. Interviewing is not the time to wing it! Most of the information in part 1 of this article is equally applicable to preparing for interviews in the private sector.
Many people are nervous about interviewing while others believe that “if I can just get an interview, I can get the job.” Whichever camp you’re in, the first thing to do, in preparing for an interview, is to think about the worst thing that could happen and then calm yourself and your fears. Whether your concerns are about whether you can answer the questions, that you might start laughing or coughing uncontrollably, or that the interviewer might be rude, identify your fear and plan to address it. Thinking about a potential response to each of your concerns will make you feel better.
Many resumes are nothing but a recitation of duties and/or responsibilities. When you think about it, just because you are responsible for doing something, doesn’t mean that you actually do it—let alone do it well. Including powerful accomplishments in your resume is a strong differentiator; it says, not only do I do “x,” I do it well. And that’s what future employers want to know. Your current supervisor also likely wants to know what you have achieved for inclusion in your annual performance evaluation.
So how do you create powerful accomplishments? The first thing to do is track and document your achievements. You can document your achievements online (don’t forget to back-up your system!) or save a hard copy in a file folder or notebook. When you receive a “kudos” email, forward a copy to your personal email account. If you receive notes of appreciation from customers, coworkers, or your organization, compile those. Finally, consider printing out and/or taking a screenshot of any LinkedIn Recommendations you have on your profile. These are an important part of your accomplishments record as well. You need to make collecting your accomplishments part of your routine—whether it be daily, weekly, or monthly.